Chapter 104: The Soul of the Innkeeper’s Assistant

At this moment, I found myself hesitant to open it, for whoever I might see upon opening would surely be to my detriment.

The waiter had been beheaded by the shopkeeper—he was definitely no longer human. As for the shopkeeper, I always felt there was something eerily strange and sinister about him.

Yet Feng Yang gestured for me to open the door.

My heart suddenly quickened, and with great reluctance, I took hesitant steps toward the entrance. Standing at the threshold, my hand trembled slightly. Though I had encountered many terrifying things before, now a genuine fear took root in my heart.

Creak!

I slowly opened the door. As I did, the waiter stepped in with a single stride. Passing by me, I inadvertently caught sight of his neck.

There were clear, vivid bloodstains.

I was about to react, but someone stopped me immediately.

It was none other than Feng Yang. He gently closed the door behind the waiter, then pulled out a yellow talisman and affixed it to the door.

No further words were spoken.

“Mr. Yang Dong, your plain noodles!”

Having experienced what happened with the wash water before, I dared not eat that bowl of plain noodles.

“You should eat it while it’s hot; I still need to prepare for other guests!”

The waiter smiled faintly, as if eager to leave.

Suddenly, I recalled the dream from last night. Resolutely, I raised my hand and tried to grab the waiter heading for the door.

It was at that moment that I was utterly stunned by what I saw.

As I grasped the waiter, his original head suddenly dropped to the ground with a thud, the wound oozing with blood and putrid flesh.

The severed head swiftly closed its eyes.

“Ah, this…”

I was truly frightened beyond measure. This was far beyond anything I had ever imagined; such a situation was unprecedented.

“Shake!”

As I stared blankly at the man, Feng Yang stepped forward, brandishing his long sword, and thrust it into the yellow talisman on the door.

Buzz!

A muffled sound echoed. Because I had opened my yin-yang eyes, I could see everything clearly. At that moment, the talisman burst forth a yellow light. The waiter’s soul was instantly expelled from his body, but the talisman’s power trapped it immediately.

“Spare us, great masters! Spare us!”

Though in spirit form, the waiter’s plea did not affect us. We were all yin-yang practitioners, and Feng Yang’s magic was superior.

“Spare you? Tell me, who exactly are you?”

The waiter seemed to feel the talisman’s power weakening as his aura diminished, and he grew anxious.

“I’m just the waiter here, but I’ve died eight times already. If I die once more, I can finally leave this place!”

What?

I stared at the yin-yang master before me, stunned. He must know more; his power was evident.

“What do you mean? Explain it clearly.”

I realized that even Feng Yang was puzzled.

The waiter looked at me and bowed repeatedly.

“Yang Dong, please spare me. I am but a lowly waiter, no threat to you. Please, spare me, let me go and be reincarnated.”

His desperate pleas left me dumbfounded. I had no idea what was going on. I had only just met this waiter upon entering the shop.

“Do we know each other?”

I asked in frustration, pointing to myself. The waiter nodded quickly.

“Don’t kill me. You’ve killed me eight times already. Every time I see you, I’m terrified, but I pretend not to know you. Mr. Yang Dong, please stop tormenting me. Let me go; let me be reborn.”

I grew more confused. Nothing made sense.

Feng Yang was equally bewildered, glancing between me and the kneeling spirit.

Who the hell could tell me what was really happening?

When had I killed this waiter?

“Wasn’t it your shopkeeper who did it? I saw everything clearly last night!”

I could no longer hold back and revealed everything I had witnessed. When I described how the shopkeeper had killed the waiter, beheaded him, and then gone to the small house in the backyard, the waiter trembled violently.

“What are you so afraid of? Tell me!”

The waiter shook his head and then re-entered his body. He grabbed his severed head that I had dropped and fled wildly from the house.

We were all too shocked to stop him.

After he left, Feng Yang looked at me in disbelief.

“What exactly is going on?”

His words sent a shiver through me. Even Feng Yang was starting to doubt me. But in such a sensitive situation, anyone would be wary. It was natural. Yet I truly had no idea what to do.

“I—I honestly don’t know. Do you believe me?”

Feng Yang nodded, then stepped forward and handed me a slice of ginger.

“Eat this, and I will believe you.”

Ginger has many uses, the greatest being to dispel yin energy. If what the waiter said was true, then I couldn’t be human. If a zombie ate ginger, its corpse energy would be released.

I was truly human, so I was not afraid. I took the ginger and placed it in my mouth. Though the taste was unpleasant, it cleared my mind.

“Good!”

“Since none of us understand what’s going on, let’s investigate. Most importantly, the small house in the backyard—I’m very curious about what lies within.”

Feng Yang put away his peachwood sword, then vanished in a flash and opened the door.

The greatest difference between day and night here was that, in daylight, a faint silver-white glow bathed the world in pale light, while at night, it was pitch black, impossible to see a hand before one’s face.

“Aren’t we supposed to run away together?”

I felt utterly unprepared.